Prison Law of the People's Republic of China
Prison Law of the People's Republic of China
Prison Law of the People's Republic of China
Order of the President [1994] No. 35
December 29, 1994
The Prison Law of the People's Republic of China, which was adopted at the 11th session of the Standing Committee of the 8th National People's Congress on December 29, 1994, is released hereby and shall take effect as of the date of promulgation.
President of the People's Republic of China Jiang Zemin
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Prison
Chapter III Execution of Criminal Punishments
Section 1 Putting in Prison
Section 2 Handling of Petitions, Complaints and Accusations Made by Prisoners
Section 3 Execution Outside Prison
Section 4 Commutation of Punishment and Release on Parole
Section 5 Release and Resettlement
Chapter IV Prison Administration
Section 1 Separate Custody and Separate Control
Section 2 Guard
Section 3 Use of Restraint Implements and Weapons
Section 4 Correspondence and Meeting with Visitors
Section 5 Life and Health
Section 6 Rewards and Punishments
Section 7 Handling of Crimes Committed by Prisoners During the Term of Imprisonment
Chapter V Education and Reform of Prisoners
Chapter VI Education and Reform of Juvenile Delinquents
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is formulated in accordance with the Constitution for the purpose of correctly executing criminal punishments, punishing and reforming prisoners, preventing and reducing crimes.
Article 2 A prison is an organ of the State for executing criminal punishments.
Criminal punishments of prisoners sentenced to death penalty with a two-year suspension of execution, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment shall be executed in prisons under the Criminal Law and the Criminal Procedure Law.
Article 3 A prison shall, with regard to prisoners, implement the principle of combining punishment with reform and combining education with labour, in order to transform them into law-abiding citizens.
Article 4 A prison shall exercise supervision and control over prisoners according to law, and shall, in accordance with the needs of reforming prisoners, organize prisoners to engage in productive labour and conduct ideological, cultural and technical education among prisoners.
Article 5 Activities in prison administration, execution of criminal punishments, and education and reform of prisoners conducted according to law by the people's police of a prison shall be protected by law.
Article 6 A people's procuratorate shall exercise supervision in accordance with the law over the legality of activities conducted by prisons in execution of criminal punishments.
Article 7 Human dignity of a prisoner shall not be humiliated, and his personal safety, lawful properties, and rights to defence, petition, complaint and accusation as well as other rights which have not been deprived of or restricted according to law shall not be violated.
A prisoner must strictly observe laws, regulations, and rules and discipline of the prison, subject himself to control, accept education and take part in labour.
Article 8 The State shall ensure the expenditures of a prison for the reform of prisoners. The prisons' expenditures for the people's police, for the reform of prisoners, for the living expenses of prisoners, for the administration and installations of the prison, and other special expenses shall be included into the State budget.
The State shall provide production facilities and production expenses necessary for prisoners to do labour.
Article 9 Lands, mineral resources and other natural resources used by a prison according to law as well as properties of a prison shall be protected by law; no organizations or individuals shall seize or undermine them.
Article 10 The department of judicial administration under the State Council shall be in charge of the work of prisons in the whole country.
Chapter II Prison
Article 11 The establishment, abolition or move of a prison shall be subject to the approval of the department of judicial administration under the State Council.
Article 12 A prison shall install one warden, several deputy wardens, and, in light of the actual needs, set up necessary working organs and provide other administrative personnel.
The administrative personnel in a prison are the people's police.
Article 13 The people's police of a prison shall strictly abide by the Constitution and the law, be loyal to their duties, enforce the law impartially, strictly observe discipline and be honest and upright.
Article 14 The people's police of a prison shall not commit any of the following acts:
1. to demand, accept or seize money or goods from prisoners or their relatives;
2. to release a prisoner without authorization or through dereliction of duty to cause a prisoner to flee from the prison ;
3. to use torture to coerce a confession, or to use corporal punishment, or to maltreat a prisoner;
4. to humiliate the human dignity of a prisoner;
5. to beat or connive at others to beat a prisoner;
6. to utilize a prisoner to provide labour services for personal gains;
7. to privately deliver a letter or an article for a prisoner in violation of regulations;
8. to illegally surrender the functions and powers to supervise and control prisoners to another person; or
9. other law-breaking acts.
If the people's police of a prison commit any act specified in the preceding paragraph and the case constitutes a crime, the offenders shall be investigated for criminal responsibility; if the case does not constitute a crime, the offenders shall be given administrative sanctions.
Chapter III Execution of Criminal Punishments
Section 1 Putting in Prison
Article 15 With respect to a criminal who is sentenced to death penalty with a two-year suspension of execution, life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment, the people's court shall serve the notice of execution of the sentence and the written judgment on the public security organ where the criminal is in custody.
......